The present invention relates to a catheter intended for at least partial implantation within a living body for special or long term usage, and more particularly to a catheter having a bidirectional check valve for controlling fluid flow into and out of the catheter.
Various medical procedures require vascular access over a period of time. Such procedures may include implantation of a permanent intravascular device for use with portable drug infusion devices, for hemodialysis, or for cases where continuous blood work or access to the bloodstream is required. These procedures are often performed by using either transcutaneous or totally implanted catheters.
It is desirable to limit the number of such devices intruding into the human body and it is also desirable to limit the possibility of infection, blood embolism and the like, by precluding diffusion of blood into the device when it is not in use.
A commercially available catheter features a slit-type bidirectional check valve. The tip of the catheter is closed and the side wall of the catheter near the tip is slit, to form the slit valve. The valve allows both aspiration of blood and infusion of fluids. The check valve precludes the diffusion of blood into the lumen when the catheter is not in use. A catheter of this type is known as the Groshong catheter (available from Catheter Technology Corporation, Salt Lake City, Utah).
While various other valved catheters are also known, there is still a need for an improved at least partially implantable, bidirectional check valve catheter assembly which is easy to manufacture and easy to install in a patient, and yet limits the possibility of infection, blood embolism and the like.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an implantable catheter which is easy to manufacture.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an intravascular catheter with a bidirectional check valve which permits long term placement in the bloodstream.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a multi-lumen intravascular catheter in which each lumen includes a bidirectional check valve.